North Rhine-Westphalia concentrates new energy technologies

The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Network North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) works to advance technical innovation and facilitate knowledge transfer between science and industry. The activities of its members cover the entire hydrogen chain, from its production, through storage and transport, to its use in fuel cells. The network sits under the umbrella of the government-funded Energy Agency NRW in Düsseldorf.

NRW as a landing place
Dr Koch, who studied chemical engineering at Dortmund University, has worked for the network for eight years, since its inception in 2000. In that time, it has attracted an impressing number of members. The current total stands at around 350.

“Organisations from outside the NRW region can also become members, which has proved critical to our success,” says Koch. “We’ve attracted a lot of interest from outside our borders, which in turn has led to companies from all over the world using NRW as a landing place for their fuel cell activities in Europe.”

Economic boost
According to Koch, the network’s broad scope, which has extended to forming relationships with organisations across Europe, Japan and the US, has been instrumental to the reinvigoration of the NRW region from coal-based industry to new energy technologies. Indeed, the state of NRW has funded more than eighty fuel cell and hydrogen projects, worth eighty million euros. The network’s activities have also attracted significant foreign investment, with energy-focused companies from many countries choosing NRW as a base for their European subsidiaries.

Pioneering
At the same time as boosting the region’s economy, the network is making ground-breaking progress in the development of new fuel cell technologies. One project Koch is particularly enthusiastic about is a pioneering production process for metallic separator plates by Netphen-based manufacturer Gräbener Maschinentechnik. The ‘hydroforming’ technique uses high-pressure liquid to press metal into a mould, and it could mean a leap forward in low cost production of fuel cell stacks.

Other projects Koch is especially interested in include a back-up power project for Deutsche Telekom, allowing it to reduce battery maintenance and diesel costs for power generators, and a hybrid bus using fuel cells and battery power which was premiered at Düsseldorf Fair.

Mutually supportive
As debate between proponents of different fossil fuel alternatives continues, Koch argues that there is no reason fuel cell and battery technologies cannot be mutually supportive.

“Batteries have limited operation time and cannot always be charged quickly enough, and so require a range extender,” he says. “Fuel cells are a good option as range extenders. On the other hand, in hybrid systems batteries serve for shaving peaks in the power demand and help to decrease the necessary fuel cell power. So, each technology supports the other.”

Annual meeting
The opportunity to find out more about hydrogen and fuel cell technologies comes on 20th November, when the network holds its annual meeting at the Hilton hotel in Düsseldorf. The meeting will address the key issues and challenges in the field of fuel cell and hydrogen development in the NRW region and Europe, and examine some of the current projects taking place.

It is a free event, and registration is open until 14th November. See http://www.fuelcell-nrw.de/index.php?id=347 for further details.